One year ago this morning, my life changed. I was stuck by a car on the way to work, totaling the car, destroying my bike, and sending me to the hospital with numerous injuries, including a brain bleed, concussion, fractured spine, and a laundry list of other ailments. The past year has been spent getting my physical and cognitive health back on track. For the most part, I'm doing pretty good these days, with very few reminders of the injuries themselves, other than some dark scars on my knees and ankle. Cognitively-speaking, I still have some short-term memory loss, some anxiety with complex tasks, and I can still get tired pretty easily and have to monitor my energy output over the course of a day. Yes, naps can be a crucial element of my daily activities.
BUT, I've been riding back to work now every day for a few months, and my energy gets better and better as my ride times get shorter and shorter. So this morning, to commemorate this first year of healing and other personal accomplishments, my wonderful daughter, Minta, and I rode into work together. She has always been a supportive and comforting rock for me during this journey, and I could think of no better way to mark the date than a ride to work with her. We had a blast - taking selfies, enjoying the cool morning air, and just plain basking in this thing we call Life. And waving good-bye to us this morning and waiting to pick up Mint from my work was my Guardian Angel, my wonderful wife,
Christina. She is the reason I'm here today: always there with a loving smile, a kiss on the forehead, encouraging words, and an undying humor that only served to raise my spirits during even the darkest of moments. I love both of these amazing ladies with all of my heart.
So now the journey continues! I have a new neurologist who is working with me to make sure the final part of my rehabilitation goes as it should. She is wonderfully compassionate, yet is clearly an expert in the cognitive world. I'm very excited to see where I am a year from now!
Thank you again to everyone who has been there for me during this past year. I could go on and on with stories of support - the outpouring has been absolutely amazing! I am the luckiest man in the world to be surrounded by such a caring and uplifting community!
